Taking Flight
by YuviForever
Summary: The walls that have kept humankind safe from titans for 100 years have been invaded. Kuroko Tetsuya makes the resolution to fight after his home and best friend were taken away by the titans. He enrols with the 104th Training Corps and meets the five talented soldier prodigies, all with a rough past and flawed personalities. Attack on Titan AU. Slight!GOMxKuroko, Character Death.
1. Prologue: Taking Flight

**Taking Flight**

**Premise: **In the year of 850, the walls that have kept humankind safe from titans for 100 years have been broken down by the titans. Kuroko Tetsuya makes the resolution to fight after his home and best friend were taken away from him by the titans. He sets off on a journey of bloodshed, angst and sorrow as he enlists into the 104th Training Corps. Amongst his new comrades, he comes across the five extremely talented yet personality flawed soldier prodigies. Kuroko learns that he isn't the only one who is struggling to find his true self in this merciless and brutal world.

* * *

**Prologue – Taking Flight**

_One hundred years ago, giant humanoid creatures called Titans have nearly wiped out humanity. What now remains of humanity in the year of 850 now resides in a country surrounded by three concentric walls: Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina. In these walls, humanity has lived in peace for almost one hundred years. However..._

.-.-.-.

_Wall Maria: 10:50 am_

"Oi, Kuroko! We've got to fetch the groceries for the old man today, remember?"

A hand slapped the teal haired boy's head and snapped him out of his daze. He had been daydreaming, again. His mind tended to wander off into different places for the past few weeks. The reason for it was completely unknown to him.

Rubbing his head in annoyance, Kuroko shut his book and stood up from the small dining table in the house that he and his friend stayed in, "Kagami-kun. That hurts."

Kagami Taiga and Kuroko Tetsuya were orphans that were found on the streets when they were young. An old man by the name of Sasaki Mun had taken them in and raised them as his own sons. The man was short in size and had an old leg injury. Rumors say that he used to serve the military in the Recon Corps where he had battled the titans. He was a retired veteran.

The two children couldn't complain about the kindness that Sasaki had displayed to them. He was always caring and kind and they always had enough to eat. The Seirin district was a pretty big area and somehow Sasaki manages to make himself a living. From what, Kuroko could only guess.

Kagami sighed at his friend, "Geez, you always read that book. What the hell's so interesting about it?"

The red haired boy led the smaller boy out of the house while grabbing the coins on the counter. Those coins were needed to buy the groceries that they were instructed to buy.

Kuroko ignored the red haired boy's question, "Why are we buying the groceries?"

It really was strange. Usually, Sasaki would head out to get the groceries himself. He said that it was a good exercise and good for his quickly aging body. Thus, Kuroko found it unusual that the old man would hand his duty of buying the groceries to himself and Kagami. On the usual day, Kagami and himself would head out to gather the wood for the fire or run some errands around the town.

Kagami thought for a while over Kuroko's question, "Hmm...Dunno. Well whatever, let's just quickly get this over with."

Kuroko touched the subject no further and followed Kagami to the Seirin market.

.-.-.-.

The streets were bustling with people, as usual. Seirin was a fairly big district within Wall Maria.

"Hey, Kagami! Kuroko isn't with you today?" a man shouted to the red haired boy as he paid for some bread.

Puzzled, Kagami looked around him and saw that indeed, the smaller teal haired boy had disappeared. He glared towards the streets in anger.

Kuroko always seemed to have a bit of a lack of presence. He would disappear easily if Kagami or Sasaki let their eyes off of him for even a second, especially in big crowds like the market.

The red haired boy searched high and low within the crowd when a voice made him jump in fright.

"Um...I'm right here..." Kuroko muttered to his friend. He had been standing there the whole time...

Kagami clutched the smaller boy by the head and leaned down to his eyes level, "Kuroko...you bastard! You definitely did that on purpose this time!"

Kuroko gave a small smile. He had to admit, the frightened look on Kagami's face whenever he popped up behind him without sound was truly amusing to see.

After Kagami paid for the groceries, the two boys nonchalantly walked through the street staring off into the sky.

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko started, "Have you ever wondered what it's like outside the walls?"

Kagami turned to look at his friend, suddenly caught off guard by the question. Nobody ever wondered what it was like outside the walls these days. Mostly everyone believed that mankind was safe from the titans within the walls. "Huh? Yeah I guess...sometimes. Why do you ask?"

"I may be being idealistic, but I want humankind to be able to live freely outside the walls someday. To be able to see the blue sky and fly freely just like the birds... I would like to think that we'll all be able to live that kind of life someday," Kuroko elaborated with a sad smile on his face.

Kagami sighed, "You've been reading too many books again lately, huh. To do go outside the wall and liberate mankind, you'll have to enlist into the Survey Corps. That's way too dangerous for us, Kuroko."

The teal haired boy stayed silent, before whispering, "I know that's too dangerous. It's impossible for me. But...I just wish..."

"Kuroko?"

The blue haired boy widened his eyes in the middle of his sentence before he slowly turned around towards the direction of the gate of Wall Maria. Just as he made a full circle, a blast of light and smoke shot up into the air with a deafening and dreading sound. Both the boys winced at the sound and the former peaceful street erupted into chaos all at once.

_"—elp! Where's my daughter..."_

_"Mommy, daddy...!"_

_"What in the world..."_

Kuroko faintly heard the voices of chaos around him. His eyes were focused on one thing though, the large head that was poking out behind Wall Maria. His fingers that clutched the grocery bag tightly loosened and the fruits and pieces of bread tumbled to the ground.

"...Kuroko!" Kagami shook his friend with vigor, "Snap out of it! We need to get out of here!"

"Kagami-kun...it's here, they've broken through..." Kuroko whispered, his eyes widening as they focused on the massive tower titan before him. His instincts screamed at him to 'run'! But he couldn't move his limbs. He stood there and watched as the titan leaned against the wall and as the shattered fragments of the wall collapse and fly towards Kagami and himself in slow motion.

"Kuroko, damn it! _Run_!" Kagami shouted and somehow brought the boy out of his trance. He let Kagami grab his wrist as they both raced across the town.

"Where are we going?!" Kuroko asked.

"Back to the house! The old man might be there!" Kagami replied.

Giving a nod of approval, Kuroko followed Kagami back home. People were running and screaming everywhere. Eventually, footsteps too loud for a human to make started echoing all around. Kuroko saw children crying, mothers weeping and probably even saw people getting eaten by titans. He wasn't sure if it actually happened, or if the eating part was just his hallucination.

The two eventually reached the home. Their house was luckily still in tact, even after the explosion.

Kagami threw open the door and shouted inside the room, "Old man! Sasaki! You there?!"

Kuroko slipped past his friend and picked up his book from the table, "Kagami-kun, he's not here. The note on my book says that he won't be back until late tonight. He's probably out of town into the Teiko District in Wall Rose right now."

The red haired boy nodded, "Alright. Let's hurry. The titans have invaded the wall. We need to head to the ports."

Kuroko didn't argue with that. He was frightened, hungry, and thirsty from the running from earlier. He was never very strong at physical activities and right now, he just wanted to rest in his home and wait for Sasaki to come home and tell him that it was going to be okay. However, he gripped Kagami's shaking hand and let the elder boy lead him through the town once again.

This time around through the town was not as pleasant as the first. The first thing Kuroko smelt once he came out of the house was blood. Lots and lots of bloodshed. The screams erupted from every corner of the town every single second like they were being played on repeat on a tape-recorder.

Kuroko could feel his legs shaking as Kagami tugged him along. His eyes wandered and widened with horror when his eyes met the face of one of those hideous creatures. His smile was stretched all the way to his eyes as he picked up a small girl and ripped her in half. The blood fell down from the body like rain cascading down a sky.

His foot caught the root of a tree and his jelly-like legs gave up beneath him and he topped over with his hand still tightly grasping Kagami's.

The red haired boy turned around and pulled his friend up, "Kuroko, it's going to be alright. C-Can you get up?" The anxiety was evident in his voice. Kuroko could tell that his didn't want to be too harsh on him, nor did he want to worry him. Kagami was taking the role of elder brother in this situation.

"I'll be fine," Kuroko replied before letting Kagami help him pull himself up. Just then, Kuroko turned around and saw the piercing eyes of a five metres tall titan. His face was as distorted as the rest and he had messy long blond hair.

"Kagami-kun! Run!" Kuroko shrieked as he fumbled with his footing and started running away from the shadow that was looming over them.

Kagami didn't need to be told twice. He was soon in the lead again, sprinting across the town as quickly as possible. The sweaty hold of Kuroko's hand was noticeable as the two sprinted. He could still hear the footsteps behind him and the massive amount of destruction of the town and its citizens. Kagami wondered how this even happened. It was another peaceful day today. He had never imagined that something of this caliber could even happen.

The two dashed through streets towards the inner gate of Wall Maria. Kagami suddenly felt a tight tug on his left hand—the one that Kuroko was hanging on to. He turned around and saw that he was huffing loudly and green with exhaustion. He looked up and saw that the titan that was on their trails had not lost them yet.

"Kuroko, we need to go. Can you keep running?" Kagami asked with worried eyes.

The smaller boy gave him a weak smile, "Kagami-kun. You go on ahead of me. I'll catch up later."

"No you won't! I'm not leaving you behind!" the red head glared before crouching down, "get on!"

"Kagami—," Kuroko started protesting when the loud footsteps suddenly got nearer.

"Just get on!"

Kuroko nodded before climbing onto Kagami's back. He was suddenly thankful that he didn't eat anything today.

"I know a short cut. Head into that corridor on the left and keep running straight. We might even be able to lose the titan that way," Kuroko suggested.

"Alright...!"

The two proceeded down the direction that Kuroko had pointed to. Kagami's quick feet navigated them through, yet it was evident that the footsteps were getting louder and louder. Were they getting slower? Probably.

It was then when a large chunk of rock moved and started shaking from the house ahead of them. Kuroko spotted this quickly and gripped Kagami's shirt.

"Kagami-kun, watch out!" Kuroko warned and the red headed boy jumped back away from the falling debris.

The two boys coughed and panted from the running and swatted the air before them after the stones and walls from the house collapsed.

Kuroko's vision cleared and his heart immediately sank at the sight before him. Their only escape was blocked and there was an evident shadow looming over them now. He immediately started regretting leading Kagami through this path. Why didn't he consider the dangers for a moment before heading into the narrow street?!

The teal haired boy felt the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes as Kagami turned around and stared at the titan that was smiling wickedly before them. He felt Kagami gently drop him down to the ground. It was over now. They were both going to die and it was all his fault.

"Kuroko, are you still tired?"

"I...I think I'm fine."

"Then run when I distract him," Kagami picked up a stick from the ground and held it in an attack stance. His eyes narrowed at the titan before him.

Kuroko widened his eyes. No...he wasn't going to...

"Kagami-kun! I can't do that! You'll die!"

The red head gave the boy a small smile, "Idiot. Have more faith in me. On the count of three..."

_One._

Kuroko gasped as the titan sprung forward.

_Two._

Kagami widened his eyes before he shook his head and then charged.

_Three._

Kuroko's eyes met those of Kagami as the later dodged a hand and slashed at the titan's legs with his stick. The titan was unaffected whatsoever and only raised his foot and succeeded in kicking the red head's body towards the mountain of falling debris. The large hand picked up Kagami's limp body and held it into the air. Kuroko's blue eyes met his best friend's eyes one more time and he could see the message in them.

_Go. Now! Please...live on._

Kuroko saw as Kagami's figure was brought to the titan's mouth. He met the desperate eyes of Kagami one last time before he turned around and ran. The tears now flowed freely as he heard the crunch of teeth and the piercing yell before it faded into the sky.

He was exhausted, thirsty, hungry, terrified, and emotionally unstable all at the same time. Yet, when he managed to somehow arrive at the gate of Wall Maria, the Garrison soldiers hefted him onto the boat since he was so small and let it sail. Only after the sight of the wall, his destroyed home, and his best friend truly faded away from his line of vision, did he scream out loud and break down into a heap of tears.

He left Kagami behind. _He left Kagami behind. _His heart was suddenly filled with such rage and sorrow that he no longer understood what to do anymore. He was all alone now. Yet somehow, his tears had managed to stop and the anger inside him overcame his grief.

This was a cruel world. And it was because of him that Kagami died. He couldn't accept that. He would definitely avenge Kagami's death. He would become stronger—strong enough to kill titans. That was his resolution.

He had finally begun to take flight.

_.-.-.-._

_On that day, mankind once again received a grim reminder—that they were constantly living in fear of titans. No wall could protect them forever. I am Kuroko Tetsuya, and on that day, I made a resolution to fight. Perhaps I really am being an idealist, but I want to believe that we can liberate mankind one day. I'll fight and become stronger._

* * *

A/N: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or the details and settings of Attack on Titan. They both belong to their original creators respectively.

OMG. What the heck did I honestly just write. Like. Wut. I've had this idea of the KnB characters in the AoT world for the longest time already. I'm not going to post this into crossovers because there's going to be no Attack on Titan characters in this story. It's going to be pure Kuroko no Basuke. (But omg...to think I killed off a character in the prologue already. T-T)

I hope you guys enjoyed reading the prologue! Please review and tell me what you thought about it. I'm really new to all this AU stuff and I want to know if I kind of was even close to keeping Kuroko in character. I don't know how he'll react to trauma! T-T Lol, please review. That would be great because honestly, I have next to no clue where this story is going to go. All I know is that there are going to be the GOM and the other KnB characters in here. I really just wrote the prologue down all in one sitting because I couldn't concentrate because of the nagging idea in my mind. Tell me how it is! Please review!

Thanks guys, and feel free to give me some ideas on how to write this story as well. LOL.

Kk, love you all!

~Yuvi


	2. Chapter 1: Spark

Thanks to **Alumi, x10TIMEx, AwsumReader, Monkey D. Writer, PuncakeGoddess, anonymous, LovelyAria, teruhi, and Guest **for reviewing last chapter! I really enjoyed reading your reactions on my little prologue, haha! I can't say how sorry I am for killing off Kagami. I was crying on the inside as well so don't worry! And please don't hunt me down! :')

And at **anonymous**, there's not going to be any explicit romance between Kuroko and the GoM in the story. Sorry to say, it's mostly going to be friendship and comfort and a little fluff now and then. So please don't worry about it and I hope you keep reading!

Now for the chapter...

* * *

_**Taking Flight**_

**Chapter 1 - Spark**

_Humanity's military is composed of three main branches—The Garrison, the Military Police, and the Survey or Recon Corps. The Survey Corps explores outside human territory to hostile areas in a bid for expansion. The Garrison patrols and maintains the walls. They are the first to engage the Titans if the gate is destroyed. And finally, the Military police are the top-ranking soldiers who serve as personal guards for the king and maintain order within the walls. They are the most prestigious due to the safety of their work within the inner wall Sina, abundant resources, and higher authority over other military sectors. The Survey Corps are the most dangerous branch of the military. They are most actively involved in Titan combat and human expansion. Despite having little to no success, they still symbolize the 'hope of mankind'—their insignia being known as the 'Wings of Freedom'. However, because of the low survivability rate of the Survey Corps and the limited entry of the Military Police, most soldiers join the Garrison upon graduation. _

_Before joining the branches, soldiers must undergo rigorous training in the Training Corps and determine whether or not they are truly fit to be a soldier. Supervision of the Training corps is under the command of Aida Kagetora, a retired member of the elite Survey Corps. With his fierce personality and threatening gaze, he is able to properly recreate each soldier's identity and focus each of them to their current task._

_.-.-.-._

_Wall Rose - Teiko District Military Training Grounds: 9:30 am_

The wind was refreshing as it swept the gray dust particles off the ground and into the air. The open flaps of the brown jackets shifted to the wind and silence completely dominated the area.

Kuroko stood like many of the other new trainees—right fist over his heart and left arms firmly across his back.

Two whole years have passed since Kagami's death and the destruction of Wall Maria and his home district of Seirin. He had barely managed to survive on the leftover rations of the Teiko district. Having vowed to become stronger after the fall of his home, he made it this far. Finally. Finally was he able to start fulfilling his vow.

"STATE YOUR NAME, PUNK."

The loud voice of the instructor Aida Kagetora snapped Kuroko to reality. He turned his head over to his left and saw the instructor looming over a boy with dazzling blond hair and gold eyes. His fist was clutched over his chest tightly and he stared at the instructor with a glance of a frightened puppy.

"K-Kise Ryota from town of Kaijo, _sir_!" the boy stammered and held his head up higher.

Kuroko could feel the pressure of the instructor raining down on him. Small beads of sweat formed on his forehead and he could feel them rolling down slowly. He took a deep breath before glancing back at the situation unfolding near him.

"YOU? A SOLDIER? YOU LOOK LIKE SOME RICH FASHION MODEL WANNABE THAT CRAWLED HIS WAY OUT OF A DIRT RAG FARMHOUSE! AND WHAT IS WITH THAT BLOND HAIR? TRYING TO ATTRACT ATTENTION FROM THE TITANS BY BEING CONSPICUOUS WITH THAT DIRTY YELLOW?! DO YOU WANT TO BECOME TITAN FOOD THAT BADLY?!"

"N-No, sir! T-The hair colour is natural, _sir_!" Kise responded quickly, his knuckles white from the tight clench of his fist.

Kuroko shut his eyes. He was _so _glad that he was not in Kise Ryota's position. He felt sorry for the poor boy—shivering and withering under the fierce gaze of the instructor.

Inconspicuously, he shot another curious glance to the boy. He had to admit, he was rather good looking, even from a male point of view. If he had been born in a differently world, he would no doubt be able to live as a model and attract the ladies. His blond hair was strikingly strange, yet it seemed natural enough.

"TELL ME, _PUNK_. THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE FOR?"

Kise seemed to play with his answer in his head before opening his mouth to speak, "You see, Sir... My goal is to join the Military Police, marry the girl of my dreams and live a life free of titans."

Kuroko was nonetheless shocked at the careless response. It was as if all the tension had disappeared from the blond haired boy when thinking about his future. Kuroko could probably understand why. Many people had unquestionably dreamed of the life within the interior of the Wall Sina. They would be safe from the titans and able to live a life of pleasure and fulfillment. To be honest, Kuroko himself had considered that path after a year of being a refugee in Teiko. During the first year, over two-hundred thousand refugees from Wall Maria were sent to their deaths under the cover of an expedition to 'reclaim the territory from the titans.' Kuroko wondered how they could be so unbelievably cruel. Humankind's numbers were already dwindling as it is and yet, they still sent thousands of innocent lives to their deaths. Although he felt that way, he couldn't complain either. Because of those sacrifices, he was able to be here. He was able to have enough rations to keep himself alive because the people were sent away.

The whole idea made him feel so guilty and yet a tiny part inside of him was relieved. He would live another day to see the sun and feel the gentle wind caress his cheeks. Kuroko wasn't a realist, yet even he knew that he was living because of the bloodshed of many others. He didn't believe that much in superstition and such either, which is why the guilt eventually overtook his relief. Kagami, soldiers, and thousands of refugees died just for him to be here today.

_They were all so much braver and stronger than I was, _he had thought to himself. Which is also why he pledged to become stronger. He wanted everyone's death to have been meaningful. Sure, Kagami may have wanted him to live a happy and peaceful life like the one that Kise had painted out for everyone, yet Kuroko knew that doing so would bring Kagami's death to shame. He wanted to become a respected soldier that could make Kagami proud of him. Perhaps it was all a overly dream-like plan in this poor excuse of a world, but he believe that if he worked hard enough, it could be possible.

He could hear the nervous shuffle of his fellow trainees at the boy's response. When Kuroko shot a glance towards Kise, he noticed the colour starting to drain from the blonde's face. He must have finally realized that his answer was a bit too straightforward and that he was either going to suffer something worse than shouting, or just get kicked out of the military completely.

Kagetora let out a snort before turning to the boy and taking a fistful of his blond hair, "So, you're saying that you're going to spend three whole years working your _ass_ off down here in this shit-hole so that some girl will pick you up and the two of you will bunker down behind those walls?"

Visibly gulping, Kise nodded, "Y-Yes, sir."

The impact sound of a fist clashing with a forehead was enough to make Kuroko wince visibly and have the newly formed beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead. He stared at the poor blond haired boy, collapsed onto his bottom and rubbing the bruise that was undoubtedly going to form on his perfect face.

Ouch, both publicly embarrassed _and_ physically damaged. That girl of his dreams may be appearing much later than he had thought she would.

Even then, Kagetora wasn't quite finished, "GET UP, PUNK! THE MILITARY POLICE DOESN'T NEED SISSIES WHO SIT ON THEIR ASS ALL DAY."

Kise tried to hold back his groan as he moved himself up into a crouching position, "Y-Yes, sir..."

At that, the drill sergeant turned away from the pathetic blond and towards Kuroko's direction. The teal haired boy held his breath and slowly let it out as the taller man walked past him and focused on the boy beside him.

Kuroko wondered if the drill sergeant had deliberately passed him, or if he just didn't notice him. He always had a low presence to those around him and he often used this to his advantage to scare Kagami when the boy was caught off guard. The only one who didn't seem to be too affected by his lack of presence was his caretaker, Sasaki.

After the fall of Wall Maria, Kuroko had never seen the old man ever again. He had assumed the worst for him. Yet, he was so sure that the old man had not been in Seirin when the tragedy happened. Then again, if he were still alive, why had he not gone to find Kuroko?

A new shout from Kagetora snapped the teal haired boy out of his thoughts.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME, MAGGOT?!"

This time, it was a red haired boy being questioned. He was a row in front of Kuroko. He seemed to be about his height, if not a bit taller than himself. Yet, Kuroko could tell that he stood confidently with his chest raised high.

"Akashi Seiijuro, _sir,_" the boy responded firmly.

Murmurs spread through the crowd at the name. Kuroko struggled to remember where he had heard the name 'Akashi' before. He remembered that Sasaki had told him about it...

Suddenly recalling the memory, Kuroko snapped his eyes open.

Akashi was the name of one of the most powerful noble families in Wall Sina. If this boy truly _was_ the son of such a family, why would he be here in the Training Corps of _all_ places?

The drill sergeant seemed to have caught the red haired boy in an electrifying staring contest. Kuroko could see the evident sparks between the two as they both kept eye contact, unblinking. He couldn't quite make out the look on the boy's face from his current position, kept him in a locking gaze with neither of them surrendering. The atmosphere of the area prickled with tension and Kuroko could feel the hairs standing up on the back of his neck and the goosebumps popping up on his arms underneath his new brown Training Corps jacket.

Just when he could barely take it anymore, the drill sergeant removed his gaze and walked away to pick on the next soldier.

Kuroko blinked at the sight before letting out a breath that he hadn't even realized he had been holding. Just what had been exchanged through the two from that single gaze? Who exactly was this Akashi boy to make the fearless drill sergeant walk away without another word?

Some may believe that it was because of the authority that the Akashi Seiijuro boy held, yet Kuroko knew otherwise. Aida Kagetora would be the last one to fall back because of a mere kid from the inner walls. Akashi Seiijuro must have had something in his gaze, his posture, and those alluring eyes of his. Kuroko couldn't see them from where he stood, yet he wanted to. He wanted to see those eyes that pushed the instructor away. He felt a strange curiosity sprouting inside him from that exchange. Kuroko wanted to know Akashi Seiijuro better.

.-.-.-.

_Wall Rose - Teiko District Training Corps Mess Hall: 5:23 pm_

Kuroko didn't pay much attention to the gathering afterwards. There wasn't much to see after the Akashi incident. He did remember the drill sergeant sending a boy with purple hair running around the area because he was busy munching on a sweet potato during his questioning. He had refused to share and wondered why he couldn't eat whenever he wanted. Kuroko wasn't sure where the boy was now.

Kuroko remembered the boy by his tall stature. Hell, he was probably half the size of a five-meter class titan, if not taller. Kuroko honestly wondered how the heck someone could grow that tall. When he was younger, he had always thought Kagami was tall. Now, compared to the purple giant, Kagami was nothing.

The thought of his old friend was bringing stinging tears to his eyes and the nausea was coming back all over again. He pushed the thought out of his mind and stared meekly at the bun on his plate as he sat alone in the mess hall. The sounds of chatter erupted around him yet he couldn't find the mood or energy to talk to any of the people. His lack of presence seemed to shield him from the other soldiers as well, not that he was complaining. It was nice to be alone. He enjoyed his solitude quite a lot. It was easier to think, to observe. He felt like he could see everything from his small table in the corner.

He could see Kise Ryota sitting with a table of girls, smiling and chatting amiably. He could see two boys shoving the food down their mouths, no doubt because of hunger. His eyes caught the sight of a pink haired girl nursing her head, which had been smacked harshly from the drill sergeant. There were two other girls around her, pitying and muttering words of comfort to her.

Kuroko smiled. He had always been proud of his observational skills. It always calmed him down to just observe his surroundings and take in some knowledge of what people were doing.

Feeling more at ease, he picked up his bread and was about to take a bite when a tall boy with dark skin and blue hair slumped down on the bench beside him.

"Geez, finally away from Satsuki. It sure is noisy there..." he muttered under his breath as he picked up his bread and shove a good half of it into his mouth.

Kuroko blinked while staring at the boy. It seemed like he didn't notice him.

The teal haired boy didn't recognize him either. It didn't seem like he was called upon during Kagetora's inspection ceremony.

"Um...may I ask, who are you?" Kuroko spoke up, all the while giving the dark skinned boy a blank stare.

The boy turned around slowly and blinked a couple of times before jumping up and slamming his hand down on the table, "Ah! Wh-Who are you? Did you just appear out of thin air?!"

"No, I was here the whole time," Kuroko replied in a monotone voice. This kind of introduction was really getting old.

The boy nodded before turning to look around him. It seemed like some of the other trainees had turned around to see what was the racket.

When things settled down, the boy sat back down beside Kuroko and took a deep breath, "So, you really didn't just appear...?"

Kuroko let out a sigh, "No, I was here the whole time."

Not seeming quite convinced, the boy shot the teal head a grin, "Well either way, it was cool meeting ya! I'm Aomine Daiki."

"Kuroko Tetsuya," Kuroko paused, "nice to meet you. "

Aomine smiled, "Well I really didn't notice you there, Tetsu. You weren't picked on during that scary line up either, right?"

"Yeah..." Kuroko nodded, "Aomine-kun, you weren't either right?"

"Nope! I don't know why but he walked right past me!"

Kuroko gave a small smile at the cheerful boy. It was strange that he was already addressing him from his first name, and a nickname at that. Yet, he couldn't quite bring himself to correct him for it. He liked the sound of the name. Kuroko thought it suited him pretty well.

"So, Tetsu," Aomine started and brought Kuroko back to reality, "where're you from?"

The memories flooded back into his mind from the question. Kuroko pushed them away and answered, "The Seirin District in Wall Maria."

Aomine's eyes widened, "Woah! So you're a survivor then! That must've been tough, having your hometown destroyed right in front of your eyes."

Kuroko noticed the sad look in Aomine's blue orbs. He supposed that he wasn't the only one here that had endured a traumatic experience. Aomine, and probably many other trainees, have all fled from the titans.

"Yeah... It was bad," Kuroko meekly replied, holding his emotions and memories back.

Aomine seemed to notice the falter in the teal head boy's voice because he immediately chirped up again, "Hey let's train together when training starts! I'm sure we both have our goals so let's both work hard!"

Kuroko smiled a genuine smile this time, "Yeah."

**Bam!**

The sound of knuckles hitting bones and flesh brought the two boys out of their happy conversation. Kuroko turned to the sound and saw a familiar patch of red hair surrounded by three black haired boys.

Kuroko met the look that his new friend shot him and the two walked over to the scene.

"Don't talk like you're so high and mighty."

"Yeah, just because you're from Wall Sina doesn't mean that you can boss us around over here. You're nothing but a lowly trainee just like the rest of us, ya hear?"

The boys glared at the red head as he held his cheek and a shadow casted over his eyes from his red bangs. Kuroko watched as he reached for a fork on the table and then held it up in front of him with a menacing glare on his face. The boys assaulting him scrambled back as Akashi pointed the fork at them all. His red eyes were narrowed sharply and glowing in anger.

"You all have no right to talk to me or look down on me!" and in a terrifying speed, he dashed forward in a stabbing motion with the fork. The boys tripped and fell onto their bottoms as Akashi gave them a glare and stared down at them.

"Get out of my way. I'll kill anyone who defies me."

* * *

A/N: I don't not own Kuroko no Basuke or the details and settings of Attack on Titan. They both belong to their original owners respectively.

Well. Chapter one is up! Ahaha. God I really hope I portrayed the characters well enough. I couldn't really find a coach that was as sassy and foul-mouthed as Shadis so I put Kagetora on the job! Sorry if he was a bit OOC. It was a hard part to write.

Aomine, Kise, and Akashi's personalities in this chapter are all still before their transformation. Actually, I'm not too sure what Akashi's personality was like before his transformation, so this'll have to do...hopefully. If you see errors, spelling mistakes and such, please PM me or tell me in a review so that I can fix it! I wrote this at one in the morning so I probably have a lot of mistakes in there. Thank you** teruhi **for pointing out the 'five feet tall' thing in the prologue. Lol if they're five feet tall, then they're even shorter than Levi.

Mukkun was barely mentioned LOL and Shin-chan wasn't mentioned at all. Don't worry, they all will be slowly introduced. All of them... Once I introduce all the GoM, I think I may be switching POV from chapter to chapter so that not all the focus is on Kuroko, like it is now.

Okay, anyways please tell me how it was and any improvements I need to make! I'm really new to this AU thing so feel free to leave reviews on character portraying issues and such. I'll try my best to fix them!

Please leave a review! They mean a lot to me (and I secretly enjoy reading all your reactions a haha-makes writing a lot more fun)! Tell me how I'm doing so far, okay!

I love you all!

~Yuvi


	3. Chapter 2: Acquaintances

Thanks to **The Magnetic Witch, JaTopia, EclipseKuran, Anon of Love, x10TIMEx, Puncakegoddess, .Zoldyck, LovelyAria **for your wonderful reviews! I really loved reading all of them! I hope you continue to read and enjoy my story!

And **The Magnetic Witch**, I'm not too sure what you mean by Kuroko's 'trio'. I really wanna know what you mean by that so I can write up to your expectations! XD

* * *

_**Taking Flight**_

**Chapter 2 – Acquaintances**

_Wall Rose - Teiko District Training Corps Mess Hall: 5:34 pm_

If there was one thing Akashi Seiijuro hated more than being trapped within the walls, it would have to be being compared to the cowardly fools in Wall Sina. Well, it wasn't that he blamed them or such—he just spited human nature. To run away from challenges, and never ever face them head on... What he hated the most was that the ones who _have_ the power to fight back were the ones who ran away the most.

Akashi, for one, believed that mankind was the strongest. If everyone stood up and fought, mankind would win against those hideous creatures for sure. Thus, when he came of age and was free to pursue whatever he wanted, his first route of action was to enter the Trainee Corps. He knew that mankind needed a leader and he was willing to be that leader that would lead mankind to victory. This was because he himself was _strong_. He saw himself as stronger than everyone else, and only the strong can win in the world.

He always had a gift in the sight. Two people had immediately caught his eyes the moment he stepped into the grounds of the Trainee Corps: the showy blond boy, Kise Ryota, and the towering glutton, Murasakibara Atsushi. Though they both aimed for the luxury of a military police position, Akashi could sense their boundless potential as a soldier. He knew that they could definitely contribute towards a greater cause.

"Hey, are you listening?!" a hostile voice jolted Akashi out of his trance.

The red haired boy raised his head slightly and saw three boys looming over him with a menacing aura. He snapped his red eyes back up to meet theirs and stared up at them sharply, "I apologize. Did you need something?"

If it wasn't before, the fury was now evident in the eyes of the three boys that surrounded Akashi. Akashi himself was quite unfazed at the whole incident. He could see that these boys were weak nobodies. They were probably cowards like most of the people in here—striving for the safety of Wall Sina. In fact, he was slightly amused at how angry they were. They had no right to look down on him, for he was evidently much stronger than they were.

The pain of the punch came before Akashi could even ready himself. The red haired boy sat there with his head facing sideways and eyes dark and emotionless. So there were willing to underestimate him to this extent.

He heard one of them speak, "Don't talk like you're so high and mighty."

"Yeah, just because you're from Wall Sina doesn't mean that you can boss us around over here. You're nothing but a lowly trainee just like the rest of us, ya hear?"

Akashi had enough of their pathetic voices. There had to be circumstances to those who dared to disobey him or go against him. His hand slid towards the fork that lay on his untouched dish and his fingers grasped the cold utensil.

His lips lifted gently up into a small smirk as he stood up and glared fully at the boys before him, "You all have no right to talk to me or look down on me."

In a swift movement, he charged forwards and his attackers fell helplessly onto the ground. Akashi glared and pointed the fork at them—all the while staring down at them with a sense of authority, "Get out of my way. I'll kill anyone who defies me."

His pursuers stared at each other in fear before scrambling out of the way. However, two pairs of feet stood in their way. Akashi stared at the new people who were brave enough to enter the scene. His red eyes spotted a tall dark skinned boy with navy blue hair and beside him, a small fragile teal haired boy. The tall one grinned at Akashi and the three boys sprawled at his feet threateningly. The smaller one just seemed...unfazed and blank.

"Oi, we should try and all get along, huh? Fighting each other here ain't really gonna help us," the taller boy spoke casually.

"Please stop fighting," the smaller one added.

Akashi met both of their eyes. He could see the power and talent overflowing from the taller boy's figure. And the smaller one...he wasn't sure what it was about him that intrigued him endlessly.

Breaking the stare, Akashi grabbed the sweet potato on his plate and headed outside the mess hall. His mind was preoccupied with images of that certain teal haired boy. He was mysterious for sure...

.-.-.-.

A cool zephyr blew as Akashi stepped outside the mess hall. He was looking for a certain individual that had also caught his attention. He soon heard footsteps approaching him slowly and Akashi raised his head and smiled as he found who he was looking for.

The purple haired giant strolled towards Akashi with a tired gaze. His eyes met the ones of the smaller figure with boredom evident in them.

Akashi gave a greeting, "Hello, Murasakibara-kun."

The purple haired boy tilted his head sideways, "Hmm...? Who are you...?"

The red head smiled for a brief moment. This boy really was different from the rest.

"Akashi Seiijuro," Akashi responded curtly, "you must be hungry, Murasakibara-kun. Would you like a potato?"

Murasakibara's eyes immediately lit up as he saw the sweet potato in the red head's hands. He quickly snatched it and enveloped the piece of food into his mouth in two large bites. Wiping his mouth, Murasakibara smiled goofily, "Aka-chin? Is there any more?"

Akashi smiled back, "There are more inside, Murasakibara-kun. I'll be leaving now."

"Hm? Aka-chin's not heading back inside?"

Akashi raised his hand to signal goodbye as he walked away towards the opposite direction, "I've got some business to attend to."

Murasakibara blinked a couple of times before walking towards the mess hall.

_"Aka-chin is a good person."_

.-.-.-.

After Akashi Seiijuro left the mess hall, the chattering of the trainees could be heard.

"Did you see that?"

"Yeah, better to stay away from him. What a monster."

Kuroko stared back at Aomine and saw that the blue haired boy had a furious expression on his face. His fists were clenched and his eyes were directed towards the exit that Akashi had taken.

"...Aomine-kun?" Kuroko spoke up gently. The tanned boy jolted back to reality and then laughed sheepishly at his new friend.

"Ah, sorry Tetsu," he scratched his head before directing his gaze to the trainees that were still sprawled onto the ground, "geez you guys better get out of here before Instructor Kagetora decides to check up on us and bite your heads off."

"O-Oh! Yeah!" the three nodded before scrambling onto their feet and heading back to their table.

Kuroko watched Aomine let out a sigh. He wondered what was wrong. Something about Akashi probably irked him.

Nonetheless, the two of them sat back down at their table after the commotion was more or less settled.

Kuroko took another bite of his bread before looking up at the silent Aomine, "Aomine-kun, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" Aomine looked up, "Oh, nothing too much. It's just that that Akashi guy kinda reminded me of someone I knew before." Shaking his head, he grinned at the teal haired boy, "Either way. Let's hurry and eat. We'll be getting our room assignments after this."

Kuroko sensed the touchiness of the topic and decided to respect Aomine's feelings. He nodded and gave a small smile of his own.

_"You remind me of someone I used to know as well, Aomine-kun," _Kuroko thought to himself as he ate the remainder of his dinner. Once they were both finished, Aomine stood up and stretched.

He turned to look back at Kuroko, "I never got to ask you this, Tetsu. But what military branch were you planning on joining?"

Kuroko paused. That was right. What branch _was_ he planning on joining? He had definitely considered the Military Police after the breach of Wall Maria. However, the Survey Corps would probably make Kagami's death more meaningful. He couldn't live with himself if he just relaxed behind Wall Sina after so many had died, intentionally or unintentionally, for him. Yet then again, Kagami would not want him to just throw his life away by entering the Survey Corps.

"I'm...not sure yet," Kuroko responded. He picked up his plate and walked towards the kitchen area with Aomine.

The boy beside him grinned, "Well that's fine, right? You have three whole years to decide!"

Kuroko smiled, "I guess that's right. Aomine-kun, which branch will you be joining?"

"For me it's gotta be the Recon Corps. After all, they're the only ones who can keep humanity safe, right?" Aomine flashed a smile before cleaning his plate and dropping it into the plate basket.

Kuroko contemplated Aomine's answer. His answer came pretty quickly. Kuroko guessed it was because he had thought it over numerous times before. He suddenly wondered what Aomine had been through to get where he was currently. Kuroko suddenly understood that everyone in this room probably had to undergo the sort of incident that he went though. Through the three years that were to come, everyone would be training endlessly to pursue his or her eventual goal. Kuroko himself wanted to get stronger, but what was he getting stronger for? What did he want to do?

"Tetsu, let's go meet up at the dorms. I think it's time for them to assign rooms," Aomine spoke after a while.

"Ah," Kuroko looked up, "alright. Let's go."

For now, he would have to keep moving forward. He believed that he would find his answer someday as he trained harder.

.-.-.-.

_Wall Rose - Teiko District Training Corps Dormitories: 6:02 pm_

"Dai-chan! I finally found you!" a feminine voice shouted as Kuroko and Aomine stepped inside the dormitory hall. Kuroko looked up and saw a familiar girl with pink hair running over and waving at the tall bluenette beside him. Momoi Satsuki, he remembered. She was also one of the people that Kagetora had picked on.

Aomine looked up, "Yo, Satsuki."

The girl pouted with both hands on her waist, "Don't 'yo' me! Where have you been all this time? I couldn't find you in the mess hall at all!"

"Hm...but I was there the whole time," Aomine mimicked Kuroko's line with the same blank expression.

Kuroko was slightly infuriated by his new friend's actions, "Aomine-kun, that's rude."

"Haha! Sorry Tetsu, I couldn't help it!" Aomine scratched his head in reply—all the while grinning.

Momoi, on the other hand, stood frozen in shock at the sudden appearance of a boy in front of her, "W-W-W-Where did you come from?!"

The shriek echoed through the halls and people turned to stare at her. Kuroko blinked before blankly stating, "I was here the whole time."

Seeing both boys having the same expression on their faces, Momoi could only scream again.

.-.-.-.

After things settled down a bit, Aomine introduced Kuroko and Momoi to each other. Kuroko learned that Momoi and Aomine were actually childhood friends and that they decided to join the military together after Wall Maria fell. They didn't talk for much longer after that as the drill sergeant stormed into the hall seconds later and gave dormitory instructions.

"Each room will be shared between six! There will be no room negotiations! You'll all have to suck it up, you little brats! Girls will be on the right side and boys will be on the left side!" Kagetora explained before proceeding to read the rooming arrangements off a list.

"Room fifteen! Akashi Seiijuro, Aomine Daiki, Kise Ryota, Kuroko Tetsuya, Midorima Shintarou, and Murasakibara Atsushi! That is all. Boys head to your rooms and stay there! Training will begin at seven o-clock sharp tomorrow morning. Get your sorry selves ready for hell!" Kagetora finished and the boys all scrambled at once towards their rooms.

Kuroko blinked and wondered if he heard right. He was stuck in a room with the trainees that stood out the most during the 'introduction ceremony', as they now called it. The only one he hadn't heard of before was Midorima Shintarou.

"Well, at least we're bunking together, Tetsu!" Aomine grinned optimistically, though Kuroko could see that even Aomine saw that this was more than just a mere coincidence. Either way, Kuroko guessed he couldn't really do anything about it. Thus, he smiled back at Aomine and the two made their way to room fifteen.

Pushing open the door, Kuroko could see that the room was more or less tidy. There were three bunk beds, two by one side of the wall and one by the other. A small window etched itself on the middle wall in the room and a small desk was placed underneath it. There were white covers on the beds and white pillowcases that matched them.

Kuroko saw that two of the bunks were occupied already. Akashi sat on the top bunk of the bed that was placed by the left wall, and a purple haired boy, that Kuroko assumed was Murasakibara, was already asleep below Akashi. Kise Ryota and a green haired boy occupied the other bunk bed in the far right corner of the room. Kise stared at Kuroko from the top bunk and the green haired boy sat on the bottom bunk, reading a newspaper article. Kuroko assumed the green haired boy was Midorima Shintarou.

Taking a deep breath, Kuroko told himself to quickly get familiar with the room and his roommates, as Kagetora evidently made himself clear that there would be no room changes. Thus, this was probably the place that Kuroko would spend the next three years of his life in—assuming that he survived that long.

Taking a step forward, Kuroko stood in the middle of the room and felt all eyes on him, "It's nice to meet you all. I am Kuroko Tetsuya."

* * *

A/N: I do not own Kuroko no Basket or the setting and details of Attack on Titan. They both belong to their original owners respectively.

Okay, believe me when I say I wanted this chapter to be a lot longer considering I made you guys wait almost a month for this sucker to come out. However, I felt like it was 'just right' to end it up there! You know what I mean, right? I felt like it was a good place to stop so I did. Haha. Well, this introductory arc is really getting longer and longer. I originally meant for it to finish after three chapters, but I don't think that's possible now. Either way, I'm so sorry for making you guys wait that long! D: I really wanted to post this earlier but I had a bit of a writer's block and I felt like words were just not coming to me. Not to mention there was school and such. Sorry again! I'll try my best to get the next chapter to you by next week but no guarantees! (Sorry!)

Again, feel free to point out any illogical sentences, spelling or grammar errors and such as I did not proof read this at all. Hahaha... Please leave a review and tell me how you felt about this chapter! Reviews are probably the one thing that motivates me to write faster! XD You can bribe me to write another chapter quickly with reviews! (jkjkjk, I promise I'll try my best to get the next chapter to you guys by next week to make up for this horribly tiny chapter.) But yeah, please review. I really love reading them and they always brighten up my day. Hahaha.

You got to see a bit of Akashi POV this chapter. Tell me if I got him in character. It was pretty hard to write for him. Aaand, Shin-chan was finally introduced (kinda). Next chapter will be tears, sweat, and blood from handwork training. Kuroko will be thrown into _hell_. Hope you guys are excited now!

Please read and review!

I love you all!

~Yuvi


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